Aon Expands Open Catastrophe Modelling in Latin America With Implementation of Oasis Framework
AON announced that its Impact Forecasting team is leveraging the Oasis Loss Modelling Framework (Oasis LMF) to deliver ERN’s Latin America catastrophe models to clients.
Latin America is becoming a key focus for (re)insurers seeking portfolio diversification. While the region faces climate risks, its catastrophe profile, with more earthquakes than hurricanes, offers a unique balance for global portfolios.
Oasis LMF supports an expanded suite of Latin America catastrophe models from ERN (Evaluación de Riesgos Naturales) within Impact Forecasting’s ELEMENTS platform, emphasizing Aon’s support for open-source initiatives that aim to democratize catastrophe modelling and broaden choice beyond the traditional vendor landscape. This adds to Impact Forecasting models already in Oasis LMF including the Europe windstorm, Europe SCS, Canada flood, Europe flood, Thailand flood and Manhattan blast model.
As climate-driven volatility and regulatory demands intensify, insurers face pressure to ensure their risk view is robust and adaptable. By supporting Oasis, Impact Forecasting empowers (re)insurers to take greater ownership of their catastrophe risk models, leveraging model customisability to gain new insights and make more informed risk and capital decisions. This approach recognizes the unique characteristics of (re)insurers’ exposures and allows for more accurate analysis and risk pricing.
In its work with clients, Impact Forecasting serves both as a model provider – supporting industry initiatives such as Open Data Standards – and as a technology provider. Through the team’s ELEMENTS platform, users can access not only Impact Forecasting models but also integrate third-party vendor models into the workflow. This collaborative approach offers clients the flexibility to access, benchmark and blend a wide range of models, empowering them with a holistic view of risk.
Adam Podlaha, global head of Aon’s Impact Forecasting, commented: “Aon recognises that clients need to access catastrophe data and models through their preferred systems and platform. With our collaboration with Oasis LMF and positive conversations with software and model vendors, we continue to seek the best solutions and expand the range of models we offer to help quantify catastrophe risk for our clients. Our approach reflects Aon’s ongoing commitment to innovation, transparency and client empowerment in the evolving world of catastrophe risk management.”
Paula Ferreira, Latin America CEO, Reinsurance Solutions at Aon, added: “Emerging risks and areas of under-insurance are driving profitable growth opportunities for our clients in Latin America, but to seize these opportunities (re)insurers need a clear understanding of their potential exposures. In this regard, these additional models from ERN are enabling us to deliver increasingly accurate assessments, tailored solutions and exceptional service to clients, ultimately shaping better business decisions.”
Impact Forecasting enables insurers to tailor catastrophe models to their unique risk, using their own claims and exposure data to refine damage and vulnerability functions based on historical loss experience. For example, the U.S. severe convective storm (SCS) model – which is one of the most up-to-date SCS models available – supports the creation of custom vulnerability curves to better reflect individual portfolios. In addition, users can access model hazard and event data, offering greater transparency and insight into model components and helping clients build trust in their models.
Beyond insurance, Aon’s commitment to open modelling extends to disaster risk reduction and risk financing for public sector and corporate clients. This includes being a founding partner of the Insurance Development Forum, where Impact Forecasting has contributed free-to-use scenarios in Oasis LMF and provided event-sets for typhoons and earthquakes for the Oasis Risk Explorer. The team has also collaborated with development banks on a range of projects including developing multi-peril models for Vietnam and Nepal.
For more information and insights into Impact Forecasting’s catastrophe risk management products, please click here: https://www.aon.com/en/capabilities/reinsurance/catastrophe-model-insight
AIG Appoints Angelo Colombo as Chief Executive Officer, Latin America and the Caribbean
American International Group, Inc. announced that Angelo Colombo has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, AIG Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), effective June 2, 2025, subject to regulatory approval. Mr. Colombo will be based in Sao Paolo, Brazil and will report to Jon Hancock, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, International Commercial Insurance and Global Personal Insurance. In this role, Mr. Colombo will lead AIG’s business across the Latin America and Caribbean region.
“I am pleased to welcome Angelo to AIG. He brings deep insurance industry expertise and significant leadership experience to this role, which is critical to our continued growth in this important region,” said Mr. Hancock. “Angelo has an exceptional understanding of the diverse markets across Latin America and the Caribbean and the dynamic opportunities they create for our clients.”
Mr. Colombo added, “I am excited to join AIG, and I look forward to working with the talented team of colleagues in the Latin America and Caribbean region to build on the Company’s significant momentum and help unlock opportunities for our clients and strengthen relationships with our distribution partners across the LAC region.”
Mr. Colombo joins AIG from Swiss Re Corporate Solutions where he was most recently Regional CEO of Latin America.
Aon Expands Risk Capital Capabilities To Serve Clients In Latin America With Acquisition Of NGS Seguros In Uruguay
AON, a leading global professional services firm, has announced the expansion of its Risk Capital capabilities to serve clients in Latin America through the acquisition of NGS Seguros, the leading risk management consultant in the Uruguayan insurance market.
NGS has operated as Aon’s exclusive correspondent in Uruguay for the last 25 years, offering a wide range of solutions to ddress theneedsof clients of all sizes. Effective immediately, the company will go to market as “Aon.”
“Today’s news reinforces Aon’s investment in the South Cone and the relevance of this market for our operation in Latin America. We are pleased to welcome the NGS team to Aon. We share a long history of working together and together remain committed to helping our clients make better, more-informed decisions,” said Franco Di Lucca, head of the South Cone at Aon.
With the acquisition, Aon expands its presence in Latin America by formally establishing operations in Uruguay, a country that presents new opportunities for growth in its insurance market. Approximately 50 NGS colleagues will join Aon as part of the acquisition and NGS Partner Luis Puig will become head of Aon’s operations in Uruguay and NGS Partner Alberto Puig will serve as a senior consultant to the firm.
“Since 1871, NGS has been key to the Uruguayan insurance market, and its name has been synonymous with security and trust. We have deep experience in advising clients and, most importantly, an extremely talented team of which we are very proud. Joining Aon and leveraging the firm’s global presence will take us to the next level in terms the solutions we can offer for our clients, as well as bring great development opportunities for our teams,” said Luis Puig.
Terms of the transaction, which has closed, were not disclosed.
Leadership appointments for Allianz Commercial in Iberia and Latin America
As part of its ‘Integrated Commercial’ strategy, Allianz has announced Managing Directors (MDs) to lead its Commercial insurance business in two key regions: in Iberia, Agustín de la Cuerda, and in Latin America, David Colmenares. Each Managing Director will represent the integrated Allianz Commercial insurance business across all countries in their region and bring to the market Allianz’s full set of solutions for specialty clients, large corporates and mid-sized companies, simplifying and enhancing the experience of clients and distribution partners.
Agustín de la Cuerda
Agustín de la Cuerda has many years of leadership and technical insurance experience across Iberia and Latin America, including as Chief Operating Officer of Allianz Seguros (Spain) and Allianz Portugal, and since 2021 as Deputy General Manager and Commercial Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO) at Allianz Seguros (Spain). He will oversee Allianz Commercial’s business across Spain and Portugal, reporting to Veit Stutz, CEO of Allianz Spain in conjunction with Henning Haagen, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (‘AGCS’) Board Member and Chief Regions & Markets Officer whose responsibility includes this region.
David Colmenares Spence has been CEO of Allianz Colombia since 2017, prior to which he worked as Chief Claims Officer and Chief Executive Officer in insurance companies such as AIG, ACE (Chubb), Zurich and brokers including Marsh in Latin America and Asia Pacific. He will continue as CEO of Allianz Colombia until further notice, pending the confirmation of his successor. Allianz services clients across Latin America through its businesses in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico and for multinational insurance programs through network partners in other countries. Colmenares will oversee Allianz Commercial’s business across this region, reporting to Javier Bernat, CEO Allianz Latin America in conjunction with Tracy Ryan, Board Member of AGCS and Chief Regions & Markets Officer for the Americas.
David Colmenares
Allianz announced on March 10, 2023 that it will serve the global commercial insurance segment as one go-to-market business, using the new trading name of Allianz Commercial, combining its AGCS business serving large corporate and specialty clients together with the insurance businesses of Allianz’s operating entities serving mid-sized country-based accounts.
These appointments and responsibilities are with immediate effect, subject to regulatory approval where required.
Aon Expands Catastrophe Modeling And Consultancy Capabilities With Acquisition Of ERN In Latin America
AON announced the expansion of the firm’s catastrophe modeling and consultancy capabilities in Latin America with the acquisition of ERN (Evaluación de Riesgos Naturales), a Mexico-based leader in risk assessment modeling.
The acquisition aims to bring additional value to Aon’s insurer clients, which face three key issues in navigating natural catastrophe and climate volatility: the increasing cost of secondary perils, the ability to understand an evolving climate, and the need to create a custom view of risk to make better business decisions. Aon is working with clients to develop their own view of risk – an important component in achieving the differentiation necessary for successful renewals outcomes in the tightening reinsurance market.
Over the past decade, Latin America experienced $64.4 billion in insured losses, predominantly driven by tropical cyclone, followed by earthquake, drought and flooding. In response to these the challenges, the acquisition of ERN expands Aon’s catastrophe modeling suite by introducing earthquake and hurricane modeling for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The transaction sees ERN joining Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions business, where it will collaborate with the Impact Forecasting team, whose modeling suite enables firms to analyze the financial impacts of catastrophic events with a view to developing effective reinsurance, underwriting and exposure management strategies.
“The acquisition aligns within Aon’s global position as a leader in data and analytics solutions, our focus on catastrophe model development in Latin America, and our use of scientific research, academic collaborations and robust analytics to build innovative risk solutions for the public and private sectors,” said Keith Lawler, managing director of Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions in Latin America. “We are excited to welcome the ERN team as we together pursue our shared commitment to helping our insurer clients to differentiate themselves, both in their understanding of how climate change and natural catastrophes affect their businesses, and in how they communicate this view of risk to their reinsurance carriers.”
Founded in 1996, ERN has developed modeling capabilities that are specific to Latin America and backed by strong expertise and research. Lawler will serve as CEO of this business and ERN founders Eduardo Reinoso and Dr. Mario Ordaz will join Aon as senior scientific advisors.
“Throughout the last 26 years, ERN has built a highly respected brand and has utilized a broad range of modeling platforms that assist clients analyzing many risks,” said Dr. Ordaz. “Joining Aon can take us to the next level in terms of reach and delivery, contributing even more to reducing possible human and material losses from natural and man-made catastrophes.”
The acquisition expands Aon’s wider efforts to quantify natural catastrophes and climate risk globally. Aon is collaborating with leading academic institutions worldwide to better understand and apply evolving climate research, including, most recently, with the University of California, Merced and the University of California, Los Angeles to implement the latest climate change science and research into Aon’s U.S. wildfire catastrophe model.
Terms of the transaction, which has closed, were not disclosed.
Everest Insurance® Expands Into Latin America With Official Opening in Santiago, Chile
Everest Insurance®, the Insurance division of Everest Re Group, Ltd. (“Everest”) (NYSE: RE) announced that it has officially entered the Latin American market after receiving approval from the Commission for the Financial Market (CMF) to operate in Chile under the name Everest Compañía de Seguros Generales Chile S.A. Senior Vice President and Regional President of Latin America Pablo Korze will lead operations and a team of seasoned underwriters uniquely positioned to serve the growing needs of corporations across the Latin American market, with a flagship office in Santiago, Chile.
“As we continue to expand our Everest Insurance® global footprint, we’re bringing our customer-first model, decades of underwriting discipline and financial strength to address the unique and growing needs of the Latin American market,” said Pablo Korze, Senior Vice President and Regional President of Latin America, Everest Insurance®. “We have assembled a deeply experienced team with a keen understanding of local market dynamics and challenges facing corporations who need the capacity and expertise across a wide expanse of insurance needs that Everest is known to deliver.”
Everest’s bespoke breadth of insurance products will help fill a critical void for tailored risk solutions in the property, marine, casualty and financial lines sectors with the speed and agility required in the current insurance landscape.
“Building on the success of our world-class specialty insurance operations, we’re bringing the full strength of Everest resources and capital position to key regions like Chile and around the world where our expertise is needed most,” said Mike Karmilowicz, President & CEO, Everest Insurance®. “We are well-positioned, with first-class industry talent and a broad suite of specialty insurance products and capabilities to lead local corporate segments in Latin America, as we continue to expand our position as a preferred market leader.”
Aon Names Paula Ferreira As Latin America CEO Of Reinsurance Solutions
AON, a leading global professional services firm, announced Paula Ferreira as Chief Executive Officer of Latin America in the firm’s Reinsurance Solutions.
Reporting to Andy Marcell, global CEO of Reinsurance Solutions, Ferreira was previously Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions Growth Leader and President for Latin America, with 13 years at the firm and 26 years in the reinsurance industry. In her new role, she will have full P&L responsibility, leading and managing regional resources while formulating client growth strategies for the region and fostering innovative products and services that help clients to make better business decisions.
Marcell said: “Paula has a fantastic track record both at Aon and in the wider industry. In her new role, she will continue to promote a culture of growth and collaboration, focused on serving our clients in an increasingly complex and volatile environment.”
Meanwhile, Pablo Muñoz, former CEO of Latin America in Reinsurance Solutions, has been named Strategic Growth Leader of Global Facultative Reinsurance and Chairman of Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions in Latin America, also reporting to Marcell. In his 23 years of re/insurance industry experience, he has held senior roles within Aon and the wider industry, including as the firm’s Global Chief Broking Officer of Facultative Reinsurance.
In his new role, Muñoz will work closely with Andrew Laing, CEO of Global Facultative Reinsurance, and Aon’s global geographic leaders in driving the global facultative growth strategy to maximise client value worldwide. He will remain a member of the Reinsurance Solutions Global Executive Committee and will support the leadership transition in Latin America.
Marcell added: “Pablo’s industry experience and leadership influence will be invaluable to the wider Facultative Reinsurance leadership team as we continue to implement its model and capabilities globally to help clients navigate volatility. A vital focus will be on developing integrated broking capabilities and enhanced specialty products to serve client needs in an even more comprehensive way, increasing their access to capital and improving their resilience.
“With these promotions, it is clear that Pablo has overseen tremendous growth during his tenure as CEO and previously as Latin America growth leader, and has built a robust platform for further growth and innovation. We are excited to welcome Pablo into the new role, and see his contributions in this new position.”
Rappi and Chubb Expand Alliance to Co-Create Customized Digital Insurance Offerings Across Latin America
Rappi, the Latin American SuperApp, and Chubb, the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer, announced the expansion of their alliance to co-create customized digital insurance offerings for the SuperApp’s millions of users across the region. The announcement was made during Web Summit 2021, Europe’s largest technology conference, in Lisbon, Portugal.
In this new phase of the alliance, the companies will work together to co-create innovative and customized products for users of RappiBank and RappiTravel, two of the SuperApp’s multi-service verticals. Earlier this year in Mexico, Rappi and Chubb introduced insurance products and services for mobile phone theft or damage protection, coverage for fraudulent internet purchases and identity theft, and home insurance and contents protection.
The expanded alliance brings together Chubb’s industry-leading digital integration capabilities and Rappi’s deep behavioral customer research and machine learning models to enable a new co-creation process for developing customized digital insurance products to meet the needs of Rappi users. The process will utilize artificial intelligence (AI) teams to support short- and long-term operations and strategies. It will also leverage the digital integration capabilities of Chubb Studio, Chubb’s global digital product distribution platform.
With this alliance, Rappi’s customers will have access to tailor-made insurance products through an intuitive, user-friendly experience, where quotes, bill payment and account management are transacted digitally.
“Rappi is excited to broaden its insurance partnership with Chubb,” said Juan Pablo Ortega, Co-Founder of Rappi and Head of RappiBank. “This allows us to combine Chubb’s expertise in risk-management, data analytics and superior claims service with our AI-based customer knowledge and acclaimed user interface to develop customized insurance offers. And as we scale, we’re making insurance protection more accessible and inclusive for our Latin American customers.”
“At Chubb, we are proud to provide an optimized experience that allows customers to select the protections they choose in an easy and intuitive way, with just a few clicks,” said Marcos Gunn, Senior Vice President, Chubb Group and Regional President, Latin America. “We look forward to further integrating our cutting-edge risk management solutions into Rappi’s multi-service digital ecosystem to bring innovative insurance products to market.”
Rappi’s financial services arm, RappiBank, was launched earlier this year and, in just a few months, over two million users in five countries have applied for its credit cards.
Additionally, as an AI-driven company, this growth is supported by machine learning-based risk models, which gather information from Rappi and its partners across the continent. RappiBank, with the support of its large customer base and AI-capabilities, aims to provide the best financial products in Latin America. The bank has been winning over digital natives in Latin America, focusing on full app-based services, low fees, and simplicity to promote its products.
Chubb’s technology, analytics and data capabilities provide its global partners and their customers with a seamless experience. These capabilities are not only being utilized in Latin America with partners like Rappi, but also in other regions around the world including Asia and Europe. Specifically, Chubb’s global digital product distribution platform, Chubb Studio, allows business partners to quickly and easily add “white label” insurance offers to their existing digital platforms, with significant speed-to-market capabilities. Additionally, it offers a secure and scalable platform with multiple APIs to simplify the process. The platform enables Chubb’s partners in retail, e-commerce, banking, fintech, airline, telecommunications, and other industries to add digital insurance options to their own product and service offerings, as well as the ability for their customers to submit claims 100% digitally, within their own ecosystems and platforms.
Barclays appoints Gabriel Casillas as the new Chief Economist for Latin America
Barclays is pleased to announce the appointment of Gabriel Casillas as the new Chief Economist for Latin America. Mr. Casillas will be based in New York and will focus on driving Barclays’ economic research across Latin America, in addition to covering the Mexican economy. He will report to Christian Keller, Head of Economics Research.
Mr. Casillas joins Barclays from Grupo Financiero Banorte, where he was Chief Economist and Head of Investor Relations and ESG. He has over 15 years of experience in the industry and previously worked at J.P. Morgan and UBS as Chief Economist for Mexico and Chile, as well as at the central bank of Mexico in different divisions.
“We are delighted to welcome Gabriel to Barclays and to our Global Research franchise,” says Ajay Rajadhyaksha, Head of Macro Research. “Gabriel’s appointment underscores our commitment to investing in top level talent and we are confident our clients will benefit from his insights and expertise, as well as his diverse experience in the economic and financial sectors.”
Mr. Casillas is also chair of the National Committee of Economic Research at the Mexican Institute of Finance Executives and a member of the Economic Advisory Committee at the Institute of International Finance.
Chubb Appoints Marc Poliquin to Head of Property & Casualty for Latin America
Chubb has appointed Marc Poliquin Senior Vice President and Head of Property and Casualty for the company’s general insurance operations in Latin America. Currently, Mr. Poliquin is Senior Vice President, Professional Indemnity Product Head, Chubb. In his new role, Mr. Poliquin will have oversight of product, business development, underwriting operations, and overall profit and loss performance for Chubb’s property and casualty insurance businesses in the region.
Mr. Poliquin will report to Marcos Gunn, Senior Vice President, Chubb Group and Regional President, Latin America, and Timothy O’Donnell, Vice President, Chubb Group and Division President, Commercial Property and Casualty, Overseas General Insurance. Mr. Poliquin succeeds Pablo Korze, who will leave the company to pursue other opportunities.
“Marc has the ideal background to lead our property and casualty business,” said Mr. Gunn. “His experience and proven track record in specialty P&C, reinsurance, and underwriting, coupled with his knowledge of the Latin America region, make him a perfect fit for this role. I look forward to working with Marc to continue the success we have experienced to date.”
“Marc’s appointment further demonstrates Chubb’s commitment to talent development and internal career progression,” said Juan Luis Ortega, Executive Vice President, Chubb Group and President, Overseas General Insurance. “His sustained level of high performance in wide ranging roles throughout our international operations will serve him well in his new role.”
Mr. Poliquin has more than 27 years of insurance industry experience. He joined the company, then named ACE, in 2004 and has served in a number of senior management roles in the commercial property and casualty business. Prior to joining Chubb, he held a variety of roles at GE Capital. He has an MBA degree from Florida International University, a B.A. in Economics from York University, and a Risk Manager Certification from McGill University.
“On behalf of my colleagues, I want to thank Pablo for his service,” said Mr. Gunn.